N6.25bn palliative: Senate issues warrant of arrest on NDDC boss

The Senate committee on ethics, privileges and public petitions on Monday issued a warrant of arrest on the interim administrator of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Effiong Akwa, for repeatedly ignoring the committee’s invitation.

The committee had invited Akwa to appear before the lawmakers and explain the N6.25 billion spent by the commission on COVID-19 palliatives.

In view of the huge amount involved, the committee had penultimate week issued an ultimatum to the NDDC boss to appear before it on Monday unfailingly, having failed to honour four earlier invitations.

Angered by Akwa’s nonappearance before the committee, Ayo Akinyelure (PDP, Ondo Central), its chairman, said the committee would be in touch with the Inspector-general of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to bring the NDDC boss before the committee unfailingly on March 9.

“Having invited the head of the NDDC four times now without honouring the invitations, this committee has no option than to invoke the relevant section of the constitution for warrant of arrest on whoever is the boss of the agency now,” Akinyelure said.

“The petition against the agency by an insider on alleged squandering of N6.25 billion on palliatives against COVID- 19 last year is too weighty to be ignored.

“To this end, required constitutional procedures and processes will be followed by this committee in ensuring that the Inspector-general of Police bring before it the NDDC boss on March 9, 2021 when the next sitting will hold,” he said.

Recall that under the recently sacked Daniel Pondeiled Interim Management Committee (IMC), the commission had claimed it spent N6.25 billion on COVID-19 palliatives last year across the nine oil producing states.

But in a petition forwarded to the Senate committee chairman, Sobomabo Jackrich, the chairman of the agency’s COVID-19 Palliative Distribution Committee said not a dime was spent for such purpose by the then IMC of the commission.

“As chairman of the COVID-19 Palliative Distribution Committee of the NDDC, I testify that N6.25 billion approved by Mr. President for palliatives for the entire Niger Delta region through the NDDC cannot be accounted for and is allegedly embezzled by the then Daniel Pondei- led IMC,” Jackrich said in the petition.

“My committee was totally side-lined and the IMC hijacked the process because of their secret plots, because as the chairman, I demanded for transparency in the entire process.

“The then IMC conspired among themselves and distributed strange substances in the name of palliatives in the form of spoilt food items to a few communities in the region.

“To cover up for the fraud, they tried without success to bribe me with a few bags of rice and beans just to induce me to play along with them,” he claimed.